Temporal patterns of patient-reported trismus and associated mouth-opening distances in radiotherapy for head and neck cancer: A prospective cohort study

Abstract

Objectives

To identify temporal patterns of patient-reported trismus during the first year post-radiotherapy, and to study their associations with maximal interincisal opening distances (MIOs).

Design

Single institution case series.

Setting

University hospital ENT clinic.

Participants

One hundred ninety six subjects who received radiotherapy (RT) for head and neck cancer (HNC) with or without chemotherapy in 2007-2012 to total dose of 64.6/68 Gy in 38/34 fractions, respectively. All subjects were prospectively assessed for mouth-opening ability (Gothenburg Trismus Questionnaire (GTQ), and MIO) pre-RT and at 3, 6, and 12 months after RT.

Main outcome measures

Correlations between temporally robust GTQ-symptoms and MIO as given by Pearson's correlation coefficients (P_r); temporally robust GTQ-symptom domains as given by factor analysis; rates of trismus with respect to baseline by risk ratios (RRs).

Results

Four temporally robust domains were identified: Eating (3-7 symptoms), Jaw (3-7), Pain (2-5), and Quality of Life (QoL, 2-5), and included 2-3 persistent symptoms across all post- RT assessments. The median RR for a moderate/severe (>2/>3) cut-off was the highest for Jaw (3.7/3.6) and QoL (3.2/2.9). The median P_r between temporally robust symptoms and MIO post-radiotherapy was 0.25-0.35/0.34-0.43/0.24-0.31/0.34-0.50 for Eating/Jaw/Pain/QoL, respectively.

Conclusions

Mouth-opening distances in HNC patients post-RT can be understood in terms of associated patient-reported outcomes on trismus-related difficulties. Our data suggest that a reduction in MIO can be expected as patients communicate their mouth-opening status to interfere with private/social life, a clinical warning signal for emerging or worsening trismus as patients are being followed after RT.

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